Last night leading figures from the worlds of law, media, civil society, politics and the arts came together at London’s Southbank Centre for Liberty’s annual Human Rights Awards. It proved to be a truly humbling and uplifting evening. Inspiring human rights heroes from all walks of life were honoured for their efforts at the ceremony, eloquently hosted with a gloss of comic sheen by the brilliant Marcus Brigstocke.

Of all the fundamental freedoms protected by the Human Rights Act, none attracts controversy quite like Article 8 – the right to respect for your private and family life. Barely a day passes without it hitting the headlines for apparently all the wrong reasons. Flicking through certain newspapers you would be forgiven for concluding that it exists only to shield foreign murderers and rapists from deportation.